Author Archives: PressBox

Woody Johnson has bought a minority stake in Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team and will join the board as vice chairman immediately, the team said. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Aston Martin said Johnson will help drive commercial growth, especially in the United States, and will not have a day-to-day management role.

Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, said he wants to help Aston Martin compete at the highest level and grow its U.S. fanbase. Reports also said he has a stake in Crystal Palace, with one source putting that holding at 43% and another describing it as a major stake acquired last year. Johnson is an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021.

Lawrence Stroll remains Aston Martin’s executive chairman and controlling shareholder. Stroll said Johnson’s experience and investment strengthen the team as it enters its next phase. The deal comes as Aston Martin sits 10th in the Constructors’ Championship after a difficult start to the season, with an upgrade brought to the Hungarian Grand Prix and a Honda engine upgrade scheduled for the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend.

Cadillac dismissed speculation that its Formula 1 team could be sold as federal scrutiny continues around majority owner Mark Walter and his business empire. At the Dutch Grand Prix, General Motors motorsports communications executive Adrian Atkinson read a TWG Global statement saying the company is not considering a sale of the Cadillac team or any other part of TWG Motorsport. Atkinson said CEO Dan Towriss was in Washington, D.C., for an IndyCar race. Cadillac said it remains focused on building its F1 operation.

The rumors followed Walter’s record $12.5 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers and reports that he may sell part of his Chelsea stake, which fueled questions about whether other assets could change hands. Walter, who leads Guggenheim Partners and co-chairs TWG Global, owns TWG Motorsports, the majority stakeholder in Cadillac F1. TWG Global said it is cooperating with the inquiries, and no formal charges have been filed against Walter.

U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission inquiries are examining how investments and loans were classified across Walter’s affiliated financial entities. Several businesses tied to him have received subpoenas, although Walter and the companies involved have not been accused of crimes. New team principal Marcin Budkowski said there had been no discussion of a sale before he took the job and pointed to the team’s new factory and planned personnel announcements as signs of commitment. Cadillac F1 is in its first season after being approved in March 2025, and the team said its operations remain active.

Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 future was settled on Friday when Red Bull announced a new long-term contract extension that will keep the four-time world champion with the team through the end of 2030, ending months of speculation over his next move. The deal was announced ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen’s home race.

The extension came after reports that Red Bull and Verstappen were still negotiating and not close to agreement. Those reports said his previous contract ran through 2028 and included performance-based exit clauses, while Red Bull wanted to remove those clauses and Verstappen was seeking a richer financial package. Verstappen had been linked with Mercedes and McLaren, but a move in 2027 had looked unlikely because those teams were tied to their current lineups.

Verstappen joined Red Bull in 2016 and has won 71 races and four Drivers’ Championships with the team. His most recent win came in 2024, and he missed out on a fifth title by two points to Lando Norris as McLaren won both championships last season. Verstappen said he was excited to keep working with Red Bull, called the team a “second family,” and said its main goal remained getting back to the top.

Mercedes’ 2026 title campaign is being shaped as much by reliability as by pace, with deputy team principal Bradley Lord saying grid penalties for George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli now seem “almost inevitable.” Mercedes has been pushed close to, or beyond, its planned power unit allocation after a run of failures and component changes, including Antonelli reaching the limit of several power unit parts by the Belgian Grand Prix and a water leak in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying that forced Russell onto his fourth internal combustion engine. Battery and control electronics failures also caused retirements for Russell in Canada and Antonelli in Barcelona.

The team still leads both championships after winning eight of the first 11 Grands Prix, but the gap has narrowed as rivals have closed in. Antonelli, the 19-year-old rookie, leads Russell by 59 points and is 50 points clear of Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes is 72 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. Lord said it is too early to back one driver and that Mercedes’ first aim remains the constructors’ championship, with the team preferring to keep both cars competitive. He said that if a Mercedes can win a race, it must win the race.

Team principal Toto Wolff and technical director James Allison have said the second half of the season will be decided by development and race-day execution, but reliability may matter more than upgrades. Wolff said Mercedes has left points on the table and still has more performance to unlock, while Allison said the W17’s reliability problems and power unit issues have already cost points. With 12 races left and the season resuming at the Dutch Grand Prix, Wolff said one or two retirements could quickly change the championship picture, and Mercedes must balance upgrades, budget cap limits and the risk of more grid penalties.